


Chance after chance

by Ayatsuki



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Cute story, Just some little fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24436030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayatsuki/pseuds/Ayatsuki
Summary: Marius finally got himself a date with Shuhrat. But whenever he's out with him, unfortunate events occurs that turns his date into a disaster.
Relationships: Shuhrat "Fuze" Kessikbayev/Marius "Jäger" Streicher
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Chance after chance

**Author's Note:**

> This was hella fun to write, please excuse my bad writing. I will point this out, this is right other the KapGlaz two-shot I made a few days ago, you don't need to read it as it summarized in the story. but if you're still confused, just hop in it to get a better understanding but please know it's not needed to read this story. it's self-contain enough. I saw that this ship hardly has any fics so I decided to make a cute story for them, I hope y'all like it and sorry if I disappoint any of you.

3...2...1...GO!” Dominic shouted, releasing his hands off of Shuhrat and Marius who were doing an arm wrestle competition. Monika cheered for Marius' victory as Alex cheered for Shuhrat’s. The two men have similar body frames and arm muscles, but Shuhrat still looks a little bigger if you put the two next to each other. As the match progressed, Shuhrat was overwhelming Marius, him having to carry a shield and an AK-12 proved that he had greater muscle strength. Marius felt Shuhrat’s might as he saw his hand reaching the tabletop, but he noticed that Shuhrat was putting in too much strength and was exhausting himself.

“(COME MARIUS, KICK HIS ASS!)”

“(ALMOST THERE, SHUHRAT, A LITTLE MORE!)” They cheered in their native tongue. Fortunately for Marius, the tide has turned. He was lifting his arm back up because of Shuhrat’s exhaustion, now it was him dominating the match. Shuhrat struggled to keep his hand above the tabletop but failed, his hand met the cold table of defeat after Marius won. Marius jumped from his chair and pumped his fist in the air, he emerged victorious. Monika clapped loudly as she reached her hand to Alex, he dug in his pockets and handed her fifty pounds before leaving the room muttering under his breath. Monika's face grew a devil like smile as she and Dominic left the rec room, leaving the winner and loser by themselves.

“YES, YES! I WON, I WON!”

“Could you be any louder? Do I need to get the intercom to help that gloating of yours?” Shuhrat asked with a bitter voice of defeat, Marius cone his hands around his mouth and stood in Shuhrat’s face.

“IIIIIIIII WWWWOOOOONNNNNN- ow, ow, ow!” Shuhrat grabbed Marius' nose to get him to stop, he released his now red nose as he rubbed it to stop the pain.

“So, it was a bet, so what do I have to do?”

“Well...uh, it’s kinda...you know?”

“What?”

“A thing that two people do with each other?”

“Sex?”

“NO!”

“Hanging out?”

“Yeah but it’s a different word…”

“Stroll?”

“No…”

“What do the american teenage girls call it? A ”pow wow session?”

“In a way?”

“Blazing it up?”

“That’s getting high!”

“Look, I’m not the type of guy that knows these things, say it or i’m going back into the workshop!” Shuhrat shouted with annoyance, he wasn’t here to play twenty questions, especially after a defeat. The blonde man scratched his puffy hair and cleared his throat, he turned red as it was different to keep eye contact well saying it.

“Can...I have a date...with you?” he finally said, sweat rolled down his face as steam was flowing out his ears. Shuhrat sighed and pinched his eyes, Marius got nervous that he might have made a mistake that he wasn’t into men. He remembers Monika telling him to go for it, even if there was a chance he wouldn't swing that way.

“Wish you just asked that from the start instead of chewing on your tongue, i’ll do it but only cause I know Maxim is eyeing the workshop despite being gone.”

“Really!?”

“Why not, at least I tell him that I actually was outside instead of lying. Uh...don’t tell him that.”

“Lips are sealed! Like in an hour and a half, meet me at the garage!”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see, see you soon!” The blonde man bolted out the room with a gust of heavy wind trailing behind him, Shuhrat sighed but smiled. It was nice that someone has an interest in him, Marius burst open the door and scared his unit in the process. Elias woke up from a nap on the couch as Monika shocked herself from performing maintenance on her scanner. Marius was out of breath, face red as tomato, heart beating out of his chest and stuttering.

“G-GUY, YOU WON’T FUCKING BELIEVE IT!”

“They’re finally going to give Friday the 13th an actual proper remake!?” Elias asked, Marius squinted his eyes and shook his head,

“What? No! I asked Shuhrat on a date and he said yes!”

“Great job, when’s the date?” Monika asked.

“In an hour and a half-wait, where’s Dominic?”

“Smashed by a door.” Elias answered, Marius turned around and saw Dominic smashed against the wall by the door with one arm sticking out, he was trying not to spill a bowl of cereal he was enjoying before becoming a pancake.

“Oh...sorry Dominic…”

“...*growls*”

“A-anyways, I got to get ready!”

“But what about your briefing with me?” Dominic asked, taking another bite of his soggy cereal. Marius completely forgot about a mission prep briefing he and Dominic needed to go, Marius turned to Monika and pressed his hands together and made his way to her by walking on his knees.

“MOOOONNNIIIKKKAAAA! PLEASE COVER FOR ME!”

“Uh…”

“You knew I wanted this for a long time, please! I’ll repay you, I don’t want to lose this chance!” he pleaded, Monika sweat nervously and cleared her throat.

“Well...I was the one who encouraged you to ask him out. Ok, i’ll do it, he better be your boyfriend after this.”

“Thank you! Now, time for a shower and outfit change, can’t go out looking like a greased monkey.” he compared himself to, he bolted inside the bathroom with a change of clothes and took a nice and long hot shower. He used the shampoo that Dominic threatened everyone not to us and Monika’s body wash she also threatened everyone not to use. Once he was done, he dried himself and wrapped himself with a towel and looked in the mirror. He took Monika’s blow dryer that she also threatened not to use, he flucked the bathroom fan on to mask the sound of it. He then took Elias' special comb and fixed his hair well drying it.

“Ok, hair is dry and fluffy. My beard is ok...I think, smell good so now it’s time to dress well!” He removed his towel and put on his clothes, he then looked back at the mirror and shocked himself. He wore an opened button up over an undershirt with airplanes going across it, simple jeans and topped it off with finger bangs. He exited it out and rushed to put his shoes on, everyone was impressed by his choice of clothing before he rushed out after saying his goodbyes.

“There he goes.” Elias chuckled.

“Hope his date goes we-”

“DAMMMITTT!” Dominic yelled, Monika and Elias stopped at what they were doing as they peeked their heads in the bathroom where Dominic was. Dominic saw his shampoo bottle left open, Monika saw the same with her body wash, Elias saw knots of blonde hair stuck in his comb. They all turned red from anger as they shouted his name in unison.

“MMMMMAAARRRIUSSSSSS!”

Marius pulled out his phone and saw that it was now 7pm, he tapped his hands on his thighs as he waited for Shuhrat. He could feel the light night breeze coursing through the garage, probably a windy night. He hopes it won’t, he didn’t bring a jacket. He heard a door open and saw that Shuhrat was making his way to him.

“You actually came!”

“I’m a man of my word, let’s just get to it.”

“Ok!” They got into a car and drove off the base and towards the city. It was an odd drive for Shuhrat, he isn’t the type of guy to admire scenery like Timur. But watching the dancing lights on the water surface, for the dusk sky with the stars showing themselves was a gorgeous sight. He stopped looking outside when Marius started talking to him to lighten up the mood.

“Did you know that eating a jellyfish could- then ants are technically the strongest being on this planet because of their- not to mention that cheetahs could actually meow like cats because of their feline lineage- and there’s a vastly differences between panda and a red panda but they also belong- and the typical cargo ship hold tons and tons of weight- and that’s how it was possible for a fish to eat a whole person if they really wanted- and if there was any bug species that could take over the planet, it would be spiders.”

“Wow...you just know random facts like that?”

“Well, I take interest in things and gain as much knowledge of said things as I can. I...didn’t bore you...did I?”

“Uh...just shocked that you know all that…” he answered, but what did it mean? Was he bored? Was he amused? He needed to know but he didn’t want to make anything awkward, he kept driving until they reached a movie theater. Shuhrat exited and saw the neon lights and bold letters hovering above him.

“Movie, a very classic idea for a date.”

“Thought we should do something simple, if that’s ok?”

“Not a problem with me.”

“Ok, let’s go inside and choose a movie.” He said, he took Shuhrat’s hand and rushed him inside. The line for tickets was short, they looked around and saw that it was packed. The theatre was like any other, popcorn on the floor, kids screaming with a mini arcade to help pass the time.

“Since we got some time, we better pick a movie.” Shuhrat suggested, Marius nodded as he looked at the available movies, he saw some action adventure and some sitcoms, there were some classic animated films but Shuhrat didn’t look like a guy that’ll like those.

“We could watch this one, or maybe that one? I saw some people laughing when they exited the room or maybe-”

“Hmmmm, that one.” Marius looked at the movie and turned purple, it was a recent horror film that was released. Marius never been a fan of horror content, he always covers his eyes when Dominic plays any horror games in front of him.

“Marius?”

“Y-yeah, that m-movie seems fine!” he responded with his voice shaking.

“You’re not scared, are you? Marius, we literally fought monsters, like actual alien monsters.”

“I-I KNOW THAT, i’m not scared, watch! Excuse me, two tickets for that horror film, please!”

“Of course, that’ll be sixteen pounds sir!” Marius took out some bills and handed it to the man.

“Thank yo- uh…” The man looked at Marius’s shades of purple, Marius was holding onto the bills.

“Haha..sir, please let go of the money so I can get your tickets…”

“(Uh…)”

“Sir, please let go.”

“Marius, give the man the money.”

“(UUUHHHHH!)” Marius’ fear was getting the better of him, him and the boother were constantly tugging on the bills. Shuhrat pinched his eyes as he saw that they were holding up the line, the boother finally pulled the bills out of Marius’ hand and gave them their tickets.

“You’re theater R17, enjoy…” the boother said with a bitter voice, Marius thanked him as he walked to the concession stand. Marius was still purple, so they ordered what they wanted and went to their theater. They sat in the middle row as those were always the best seats to have in a movie theater. After the previews were over, the lights dimmed but that only made Marius shades of purple darker.

“Marius, please, it’s ok.”

“Uh…” he let out, Shuhrat sighed and placed his hand on Marius’ head, he turned to him to apologize for his behavior but Shuhrat interrupted.

“It’s fake, relax. We dealt with real monsters, so please just calm down?”

“...sorry, look. I’m not the biggest fan of the horror genre, then those chimeras didn’t make it any better.”

“I heard, Maxim said you wet yourself-”

“I DID NOT!”

“Maybe, but I wasn’t there. Now, can we enjoy the movie?”

“...after I use the bathroom, I feel like I might wet myself, excuse me.” Marius moved past the people and made his way to the bathroom, but when he reached the bathroom door, his bowels rumbled.

“Uh oh, guess it’s not just only pee that needs to come out…” He told himself, he went inside and went inside a stall. He sat down and did his business until the unfortunate happened, he slipped in the toilet bowl and got stuck. He tried to get himself out, but he couldn’t get out by himself. He couldn’t reach his phone to message Shuhrat, but he would honestly prefer him not to see him like this.

“H-hello!? HHHEEEELLOOO!? I-I need some help, I...um, seem to be stuck!”

“Hey, someone actually fell in.” A teenage voice pointed out.

“No way, someone was dumb enough to get stuck in that!” another laughed.

“E-excuse me, can you please lend me a hand or get an adult!?”

“Hey, it’s empty in here, let’s put up the out of order sign!”

“Yeah!”

“N-no, children who acts naughty gets- um, booboos if-”

“Shut up, old man, enjoy the toilet!” the kids laughed as they left the bathroom, they put up the sign and ran before anyone caught them. Marius begged them to not put it up, but given how they were the ones who set him up, he believes they did. Marius kept trying to pull himself up but failed. As he sat in toilet water, he wondered how much time had passed, especially since he can’t check the time. Shuhrat was probably irritated with him now, but Marius was more upset at himself for getting himself stuck in this mess.

“PLEASE, ANYONE!”

“Hello?”

“Yes, please help me!?”

“Ahhh...sure.” a man crawled under the stall, unlocked the door and grabbed hold of Marius’ arms and pulled him off the toilet. He quickly cleaned himself and thanked the man as he ran out to the bathroom and back to the movie. By the time he returned, everyone was out of the theater and the movie was over. He looked at his phone and saw that Shuhrat blew up his phone with messages, Marius rushed to the exit and found Shuhrat outside. Shuhrat didn’t say a word to him, he just entered the car and looked away. Marius texted Monika and told her that the date didn’t go so hot. As they drive back, Marius tries to salvage the date.

“Hey, you want to know some facts about squids?”

“...”

“O-or maybe about stone carving? Or the history of jelly?”

“...” Shuhrat didn’t say a word, Marius stopped talking before he irritated him more. They returned back from the base as Shuhrat exited out, Marius didn’t want to end the night on such a bad note.

“Shuhrat, wait! Please let me explain!”

“You turn purple, refuse to give the boother the money then was gone during the entire movie? If you wanted to waste my time then you accomplished it!”

“No, no, I wasn’t trying to waste your. I-”

“You what?”

“Please don’t laugh, I..fell in the toilet by some pranksters. Then they said they’ll put up an out of order sign and it tricked people into thinking it was closed. I only got out cause someone actually walked in.”

“...”

“I’m not lying, I swear!” Shuhrat stared at him, Marius' blue eyes filled with regret and failure told him that he’s telling the truth.

“So...you were pranked and fell in the toilet? Ok, I know the city has plenty of pranksters and such...”

“Please Shuhrat, give me another chance. I want to make it up to you, but if you don’t want to-”

“I’ll...give you another chance, just try not to let happen again.”

“I won’t, promise!” Shuhrat closed his eyes and went inside, Marius preferred if he said something but it was fine, he have another shot with him.

“(Alright Marius, you can’t mess this one up! You got to make sure-)”

“ **Please don’t laugh, I..fell in the toilet by some pranksters. Then they said they’ll put up an out of order sign and it tricked people into thinking it was closed**. Oh yeah, saving that one.” a voice from behind said, Marius turned around to see Grace playing a voice recording of what happened. He panicked and reached for the phone, but Grace moved it further from him as she pushed up her glasses and smirked.

“I thought someone falling into toilets could only happen in TV shows, but here I am proven wrong.”

“Grace, delete that, please!”

“No, too good to pass up. Anyways, what’s your plan for tomorrow with Shuhrat?”

“I...can come up with something...I hope. Do you have any ideas?”

“Oh no, I learned my last lesson messing with relationships!”

“Last time? Oh I remember, you were helping with Timur’s problem a few months ago.”

“Yeah and that was a party that I don’t want back, see ya!”

“W-wait, please. I was never keen on the dating scene-”

“Don’t you have like thirty million facts about socks? How do you not have any about dating?”

“Uh…”

“*sighs* you know what? Not my problem, ask your unit.” Grace said, Marius thought about his unit and how he used their stuff without permission. They're not going to let him off the hook, even if his date didn’t go so well. Then he remembered something, he remembered Grace saying something about Caveria that she didn’t want her to know. If Grace wasn’t going to help or delete the recording, then he’ll make her.

“Oh...ok, I guess I could talk to Cav. She was curious about what you said under your breath.” Marius said, Grace froze up with fear. Grace slowly turned her head to hear more.

“Got to be honest you know, oh Cave-”  
\  
“W-W-WAIT! I-I might help, j-just keep your mouth shut!”

“Thank you, Grace!”

“There’s an opening of a sushi place tomorrow, i’ll set up a reservation with your account for you two at 2pm.

“My account? YOU MEAN MY BANK ACCOUNT!?”

“Whaaaa, no! I would never! Anyways, I’ll send you the location soon, that should help you.”

“Thanks a bunch, Grace! Hey, wanna hear some facts about shoe lac-”

“The fuck I don’t, motor mouth. Good luck.” She said, finally leaving Marius. With nothing left to do, he sighed as he walked back to his barracks and face the wrath of his unit. Shuhrat returned back to his barracks to find Timur drying his hair on his bed. It's been months since Timur’s mental stress and it’s relieving to see him recovering and back in the field. Shuhrat felt bad considering he didn’t try as much as Alex and Maxim, all he did was peeked then went back to the workshop.

“Shuhrat, I heard about your date, how did it go?”

“Honestly? Enjoyable, at least the first half. His vast knowledge of things was actually interesting...and he has…*clears throat* a-a cute voice.” He added, turning red just from the thought.

“Awww, have you told him?”

“Told him what?”

“That you enjoy listening to him?”

“No, why would I?”

“....Shuhrat, if you don’t tell him then he won't know if he could advance or not.”

“But he could-”

“Ok, but does he know he could?”

“Is he supposed to?”

“Is he supp- ok, moving on. You said the first half?”

“Yes, we went to the movies and when we got to the ticket booth, he played tug of war with the boother when he handed him the money. Then he turned purple when I picked a horror film, then he went to the bathroom and disappeared for the whole movie.”

“What happened?”

“...keep your mouth shut about it. He got pranked by kids and fell in the toilet and put up an out of order sign, he only got out because someone was curious enough to come in. He begged for another chance...so I gave it to him because it...was nice being around him.”

“Well i’m glad you found someone you’re interested in, at least Alex will stop trying to get you to go outside. But Shuhrat, you need to be honest with him-”

“You really think you have the right to say that?”

“It’s because what happened to me is why i’m suggesting this. Minus my past, me not being honest caused a lot of trouble and you saw what happened.”

“Don’t remind me, but...I don’t know. I-I’m not used to this. Let’s move on, how are you? I see the dark circles and bags are clearing up.”

“Yeah, Doc said it should be gone sometime this week. Who knew it takes months to get rid of them. Feels good to be back, now back to Marius.”

“Come on! I-I...just think he's cute ok!?”

“Just tell him, it’ll help. Anyways, I need to sleep. Doc said I can’t stay up late. Sleep tight.” Timur wished, he threw his blanket over himself and started to sleep. Shuhrat climbed into his bed and thought about Marius, his chest felt funny to him whenever he did. Saying his name in his head warmed his heart and turned him red again. His fluffy hair that he wants to run his fingers through, his light bearded face he wants to rub against his own. Those blue eyes that screamed excitement and joy, his sweet voice that was music to his ear that he could listen for hours. He cracked a small smile, but then it faded. He doesn’t know how to cope with these feelings nor does he like confrontation, he really likes being around him but would he be able to say it? A question that lingered in his head until he fell asleep.

The next day arrived with Marius’ second chance, but he rubbed his head for the chops his unit gave him for using their stuff. To not get harmed again, he showered in the locker room. He freshened himself up, put on another change of clothes and went to the garage to wait for Shuhrat since it was almost 1:30pm. Once he arrived, the drive off to the shop as Marius gave his numerous facts of stuff that interested Marius. Even though he wasn’t showing it, there was a smile hiding behind his face, just hearing Marius talk with his sweet voice relaxed his shoulders and ease his mind. Shuhrat always hated chatter boxes, which is why he isn’t a fan of Collinn or Adriano, they talked way too much or too loud for his comfort. Whenever Marius talked, he opened his ears and slowed down his work, his presence was some type of serenity for him. He laughs at himself as he remembered leaving whenever Marius walked in, now he never wants to leave when he’s near. Shuhrat thought back to what Timur said, about being open and telling Marius how he felt but he rejected that idea. They made it to the restaurant and saw people walking inside, there were ribbons on the door handles meaning they just opened. They looked around but felt out of place, everyone wore fancier outfits and suits well they wore casual clothing. They went to the recipentist and told them their names, the recipentist gave them the stank eye before finding their names and taking them to their sit.

“This...place feels fancy and pricey, you double checked this place, right?” Shuhrat asked, watching the other customers' eyes locking on them.

“Y-yes, I checked it with Grace. This place is...very pricey but the prices were cut in half for the grand opening. She said we’re going to at least spend a little over 150 each, but i’m paying for us both.”

“That’s at least 300 pounds, you probably spent more because I doubt the reservation for such a place didn’t have a large fee.”

“...well yeah, but it’s fine. I have the money.”

“How much?”

“L-let’s not-”

“How much?”

“...came around 200…”

“And you were willing to spend half a grand on me? (Marius...that’s so sweet) you’re...an odd ball.” Shuhrat didn’t want to say but it was what came out, Marius anxiousness rose up, he tugged his shirt to cool down and around to see the wandering eyes. Shuhrat saw that he was stressed, yet he did nothing, just continued to look at the menu as a waiter came by to pour wine into their glasses.

“We’ll split the bill, it’ll be easier than you-”

“You don’t have to-”

“I will.” He finished with a straight face, Marius felt like he was disappointing him. He needs to lighten the mood, after the waiter took their order, he went on and on with more random facts. Shuhrat couldn’t help but smile behind his menu, he put it down to let Marius see and it was refreshing for him. As much as he loves hearing his voice, Shuhrat thought it was his turn to talk about himself. It felt odd once again because he closed himself off for years, to open up to someone one felt like a new experience. They laughed that their gadgets counter each other, shocked that they have similar music taste, laughed again when they hated the same food. Marius told some embarrassing secrets about his unit as Shuhrat did the same, both couldn’t hold their laughter as the watching eyes locked back on to them but they didn’t care. Marius felt like this second chance was working, but he needed another bathroom trip.

“I need to use the bathroom real quick!”

“Not going to get stuck again, are you?”

“Oh ha ha! I’ll just be just a-” Marius ran into a waiter carrying a bottle of wine, the waiter threw it in the air with some of it spilling on Marius. The bottle broke on their table as the wine covered it, the sudden movement from the waiter and Marius knocked over the candle on their table and started a fire. The people started to panic but Marius told everyone to calm down, unfortunately they did panic when they saw Marius’s clothes catching on fire. He was too close to the flames and felt his body suddenly burning, he tried to put himself out but slipped from the wine that got on the floor. He lost his balance and crashed to another table, spreading the fire and causing a scene. Shuhrat tried to help but he slipped on the wine and crashed into a table himself, he spilled food on a woman’s dress as she screamed and slapped him across his face. Marius quickly took off his clothes in a hurry until he was in his underwear, but once they were off, he saw that the fire spreaded more. He asked for a fire extinguisher, one of the cooks heard him and tossed it to Marius. He caught it and started it up, but the sudden kick and the remaining wine of the floor made him lose his balance. He put out the fire but ended up spraying the other customers, the establishment, himself and Shuhrat. The restaurant was now covered in white, the customers storming out as the opening of the place was a failure. Marius walked over to give Shuhrat a hand but the cooks and the waiters surrounded them. They all picked them up and threw them in the dumpster filled with trash at the back, Shuhrat climbed out with weeks old garbage attached to him but Marius remained inside.

“Um...Shuhrat?”

“What!?”

“I...um, can you get the car. I...don’t have any clothes on…” he asked with a rotting banana peel on his head, Shuhrat pinched his eyes again as he cleans himself and went to pull the car around. They got inside with Marius on the floor on the backseat so no one could see him, they were lucky that the restaurant didn’t make them pay for what they did. The two returned hungry as Shuhrat slammed the car door, Marius rolled out the window so no one could see that he’s in his underwear.

“Shuhrat!”

“Don’t know how someone could possibly ruin two date, but God seems to blessed you with that ability.”

“Please Shuhrat, I didn’t mean to do all of that! I was really enjoying our time together. I don’t know how I screwed it up but i’m really sorry!”

“...”

“Shuhrat...I-”

“One more.”

“Huh?”

“One more chance, Marius. No more!” he repeated, Marius eyes twinkled with gratitude. A smile cracked on his face as he shook his head.

“THANK YOU, SHUHRAT!”

“...” once again, he said nothing as he went inside. He assumed he was going to shower again considering climbing out of a dumpster full of trash. Marius grabbed his phone and rang up Monika.

“Hmmm?”

“Who is it?” Dominic asked with a mouth full of donuts.

“Keep your mouth closed, it’s Marius. Hey Marius, how did-”

“MMMOOOOONNIIKKKAAAA!!!!” was shouted, forcing her to move the phone away from her ear. She put it back near it and Marius asked if she could bring him a change of clothes, she sighed and did what he asked. She headed to the garage and handed him some clothes but he zipped past her and straight to the shower room, he then returned to his barrack and flopped on his bed. He threw over his blanket and hid underneath like a scared child who saw a monster.

“So...how was the-”

“I FUCKED UP, AGAIN!” He interrupted, moving over to the corner of the bed.

“It couldn’t be that bad?” Elias asked until Marius told them to look up the restaurant that just opened up.

“Ok, lets see. Thirty minutes ago, a couple came with the reservation that they made the day prior and caused a scene. Apparently, the one with blonde hair ran into a waiter and caused him to spill some wine on the blonde man and the table. The candle on the table the couple were at tipped over and set the table and the man’s clothes, it forced the man to take them off before he suffered any burns. The fire spread and caused a panic, the one with black hair spilled food on a woman and it resulted in him being slapped. One of the chef’s threw the blonde one an fire exiguster and stopped spreading. No charges are being pressed on the couple but they are no longer welcome in the establishment.” Monika read to them all.

“Yikes, talk about unfortunate…” Dominic said with a donut in his hand.

“Not to mention that the staff picked us up and threw us in a dumpster, Shuhrat had to be pissed-”

“Wait, you weren’t pissed?” Timur asked Shuhrat.

“No, Marius was willing to pay half a grand, we have a lot in common, similar music and food taste. The fire that started in the restaurant, it...was pretty awesome, I do like chaotic things. I know it wasn't his intention but it was really...something. “ he said with such an affectionate voice, Shuhrat really is just enjoying being next to Marius but why isn’t his body letting him say it? Why does it make him cold when he wants to be warm? Why does it make him be bitter when he wants to be sweet? Why does it make him stale if he wants to be fresh? But the biggest question of it all is why does this only happen around Marius? He laughs, smiles, jolly around his unit and even around some other, so why is he giving Marius such a hard time?

“Shuhrat?”

“Timur...I don’t know what’s wrong with me, I really do like Marius...but I’m always so harsh towards him.”

“It takes time, Shuhrat. You’re...not used to him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your heart likes him, but your mind doesn’t. It was like me, my heart wanted help but my mind rejected it.”

“So...what do I do?”

“You have to conquer yourself, your mind is stronger than your heart right now. You just need a little push, my push was Maxim, so yours is Marius.”

“...stupid.

“Huh?”

“This is stupid, Marius being the push when he caused all these mishaps!? Don’t make me laugh, he’s...UGH!!” He shouted before storming out to the workshop, Timur went back to his sketchbook. He was drawing a picture of Shuhrat and Fuze together, he smiled.

“Funny...I thought the same way with Maxim, you’ll see...he’s your push, Shuhrat.”

Marius was still down about the restaurant event, lying his head on the table and feeling like a failure. Even with his next chance, he was afraid of ruining it again and putting a damper on his friendship with Shuhrat. He bangs his head on the table as the thudded sound echoed in their barracks, Elias poked Marius cheeks with a mini powder and shook the bag above him.

“Cheer up, you know what they say, the third time's the charm! Now say ahhhhh.”

“No…”

“Gasp! Marius rejecting a donut!? Who are you!?”

“(Did he really say gasp out loud?) It’s ok, Marius.” Monika said.

“Uh…” was his response. The others looked at each other and walked away from Marius, they huddled up and linked arms with each to discuss about him.

“(Ok, this is twice he failed. I think we should try to help him.)” Monika whispered.

“(I agree, he is one of us and he really like Shuhrat.)” Elias added on.

“(So we need to find a place to date and watch them from the distance, but where?)”

“(Hey, didn’t the carnival just open up? I think that would be a perfect place for a date and us to watch them.)” Dominic suggested.

“(I heard of that one, Timur and Maxim told me about it. They went there before Maxim was deployed last week, they had a blast. But the bigger question is that how we’re going to suggest this-)”

“YO MARIUS, THE CARNIVAL IS OPEN!” Dominic shouted and interrupted Elias, Marius jerked his head up with his eyes lighting up. A carnival was a perfect idea for a date, he grabbed his phone and ordered two all day passes for him and Shuhrat. He then sent him a message and told him to meet up around 7pm again.

“There he goes...ok, it’s our time! If I know Marius, he probably leaves around 7pm. So we need to get there before we arrive, but first…”

“*Knocks* who the hell?” Grace questioned, she opened her door to see Marius’ unit with suspicious smiles on their faces.

“Hey-” Grace slammed the door in front of them, another knock before she even took a step. She answered it again and saw Dominic holding up a bag of donuts with Monika’s name on it and holding Monika back.

“Well?” he asked, Grace took the donuts and slammed the door. They all sighed but looked up and saw Grace again.”

“Ok, I feel a tiny bit guilty for taking the donuts. What do you want and it better not be about Marius- OH MY FUCKING GOD!” she yelled when she arrived at the carnival. She didn’t want to get involved with relationships again, even if it’s pure chaos.

“We know you helped Timur, so we just wanted extra help and thought of you!”

“We’re going to make sure things go right for him, he had two disasters so far and he had been wanting a proper date with Shuhrat for a long time. Please, Grace!?”

“*Deep inhale* fine, what are we doing exactly?”

“It’s easy, we’ll watch from a distance and whenever it seems that Marius is failing, we do something to fix it.”

“(I can smell the disasters a mile away.) Whatever, faster we do this the faster I can go home. Mike has been on my ass recently.”

“What happened?”

“Don’t ask, but there they are.” Grace said, Marius and Shuhrat just passed the entrance of the carnival. Everyone nodded their heads as they split up and watched Marius’ date. The carnival was bright and festive, flashing color lights, kids running with cotton candy. Spinning contraptions that made both of them sick just from looking at it. The air was sweet as the night wind helped deal with the Spring’s heat. Once again, the scenery was like a breath of fresh air to Shuhrat, he even thought Alex was right and that he should go outside more. Some places could be really breathtaking but Marius was enough, if the world was painted black and white and he had to choose one thing to see color on, it would be him.

“So, which one do you want to go on first?” he asked Shuhrat, he looked around and pointed at a building.

“How about that?”

“Oh, a fun house! I loved going to them as a kid, I get lost for minutes and cried for my uncle.”

“...I never been to one-”

“Then it'll be better with me, let’s go!” he cut in as he dragged, Monika and the others watched as they saw them heading to the fun house.

“Shit, they went inside the house of mirrors…” Elias pointed out.

“We’ll get caught if we go in, fingers crossed.” Dominic said, everyone crossed their fingers as they waited for the two to come out. A few minutes passed and they saw the two come out laughing and slapping their knees, they sighed with relief that nothing horrible happened. They continued to watch and follow, but relief was shown from all of them. No plane crashing, fire starting, not toilet accidents. Just laughter, joy, consuming a lot of junk food just for Marius to puke it out five minutes later. There was still a problem, they noticed Shuhrat was shying away a lot and giving short answers to Marius. He was starting to sweat and tug his shirt, his face made an uncomfortable look. They all noticed it too as they agreed it’s time to take action.

“Ok Grace, what do you know about Shuhrat?”

“He likes chaotic shit, anything that causes it he points his nose in it.”

“Hmmm, that doesn’t give us a lot to work with but- huh?”

“You four, come here!” a random civilian asked, they looked with confusion as they followed them and went under a tent. They were now behind a booth for one of the games for the carnival, they turned around as the civilians thanked them for spotting them so they could take their break. Dominic yelled at the person for setting them up but let it go, it was no point of doing so. But when he turned around, he saw everyone sweating with blank worry expressions. He asked what was wrong but he didn’t need them to say anything as he saw what caused it, it was Shuhrat and Marius staring at them. They were caught as silence was mixed with metall creaks and someone vomiting in the distance.

“So...care to explain?” Shuhrat asked.

“Oh...we were just hanging out-”

“With Grace?” Shuhrat questioned.

“I...shit, we got swept up and now covering for someone well on their break.” Domininc explained, the two looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

“I guess we can try this booth, we just have to shoot the water at the targets, right?”

“Seems so.”

“Ok, let’s do this!” Marius grabbed the water gun and shot at the targets, but the pressure was off and the water didn’t shoot out correctly.”

“Huh, I think the water pressure is off. Can you look at it, Dom?”

“Yeah give me a sec, ...and there, try it now.” he asked, Marius used the gun but this time no water came out. Marius looked at the gun and yanked it a bit, but that’s when the disaster happened. The pressure built up and burst open the water pipes,water shot out multiple shots of the booth. Some of the water leaked on the ground and flowed to some electrical panels and short circuit some rides, some sparks flew and caught some tents on fire, some of the ride either was going too fast, too slow, or stopped completely. The running water reached the fun house and wet the surface, causing people to fall and break the mirrors. Paramedics were called because multiple injuries from glass being lodged into people was happening, some were bleeding heavily well others tried to escape their glassy prison. All of this happened from Marius yanking on the water gun. After some sparks emitting from the switches and panels, the power shut off completely. It caused a panic as the authorities got involved, the group left before they got questioned, it would be a bad look for Rainbow if their operators were the cause of the carnival catastrophe. The drive back to the base was a quiet trip, Marius didn’t even say any of his random facts, even though he knew that silence was the best thing right now. The returned as Shuhrat exited out and headed inside Marius unbuckled his seat belt and chased after him.

“Stay away, Marius!”

“But…”

“Three chances and you somehow each one worse than the last!”

“I know…”

“I knew just being around you would be a waste, all that time could have been used on my device! Dammit, two days wasted.”

“I’m...sorry…”

“I don’t care, take that sorry ass of yours somewhere else! Go ruin someone else's time, you have done plenty with me and rather have my space!”

“*Sniffles* Ok…” Marius quietly said, he walked away with his footsteps echoing in the empty halls. Shuhrat watched him until he disappeared from cutting a corner. Shuhrat fell to his knees, his chest hurt. Why did watching Marius walk away stabbed him in his chest? He knows why, those weren’t the words he wanted to say and his heart knows it, now it’s in pain because he just damaged a friendship he wanted to grow into something more. He breathed heavy, he sweated, his vision blurred. He needed to apologise, he needed to tell Marius how he really felt and what he really meant to say. But when he started running in the halls, he ended up in his barracks. How? Why!? He wanted to see Marius, but his body rejected him. His body knows he wanted Marius, but it wasn’t going to let him. He laid down on his bed and gripped his head, it was throbbing as each pound caused the pain in his chest to ache more. Timur warned him, he warned him this was going to happen. It may not be exactly what Timur experienced but he already hates this feeling. Sleep, sleep was all he needed he told himself, or was that the answer his body told him to prevent him from seeing Marius? Shuhrat passed out, was it from the pain or stress? It didn’t matter, he woke up the next day still in his clothes from yesterday. He looked below and saw Timur still in his bed, he looked at the clock and it said it was around 10am.

“(Guess Timur didn’t have anything to do today…)” he thought to himself, he hopped down and went inside the bathroom and looked at himself. His eyes were red and looked a little pale, was he crying? Was he sick? No, he was stressed. He looked like Timur when he first started showing signs, but he had his push, he had Maxim. Maxim saw his signs and acted, but Marius isn’t him. He can’t see through Shuhrat's blank expression to see what’s wrong with him, he can’t tell if he’s happy, sad, stressed. He sighed as he freshened up and headed in the workshop, but Marius wasn’t inside. He sat down at a table and pulled out his device, he looked to his left where Marius would always be at. Now it’s just a stool with dust sitting on top of it, he placed his hand on it and wished to feel his warmth, but there was nothing. No sweet voice, no facts about stone or squirrels.

“Marius…” he muttered, he looked at his phone and saw he got a message from him, a long one. He opened it and read it, it was a confession.

“ **Hey Shuhrat, I know you are probably still upset at me and honestly? I would too, how can someone like me exist and fuck up three dates in a row? Each one was terrible, it was embarrassing and just...awful and such a waste. I took time from you, time you could have been doing something else like you said, and for that...I deeply apologize for doing so. Since I know I blew my chances and know you need your space, so...I should come clean. You may have noticed...but I really do like you and see you more than a friend. If I had the courage, I would have asked you out directly and not used a bet to force you to go out with me. But please, don’t feel bad or give me pity, I don’t deserve it...I just hope someone else comes by and makes you happy. See you around.** ” he read.

“ **Marius, I didn’t mind the dates. I wanted to tell you I had such a fun time just being around you alone. Yeah, the dates were disasters but it was honestly heart warming seeing you go to great lengths just to impress me, the fact that a person seemed interested in me already put me in a state of shock but in a good way. I guess I should come clean too, I...saw you the same way but I’m not good expressing myself. If you like, we could meet up and talk this out...like adults, ok?** ” he wrote, all he needed to do was press send. Press send, press send, press send, those words were on repeat. His thumb hovering over the send button, one small button could clear everything up, but he deleted the message. He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t confess. Marius talked about courage he doesn’t have, but Shuhrat was the one who couldn’t confess or even message back when he knew he was trying his best. He shoved his phone in his pocket, pushed his device off the table and rested his head on the table. He touched the dusty stool and pretended that Marius was sitting there, he drifted off to sleep again.

“Shuhrat, Shuhrat?” a thick voice called, he woke up to see Monika shaking him. He rubbed his eyes and saw her worried faces.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ash wants us, it’s an emergency...and it involves Marius.”

“W-what!? Where is she!?”

“The briefing room.” Shuhrat got from his stool and ran to the room with Monika, he opened the door to see Dominic, Elias, and Grace inside the room.

“Shuhrat, we were waiting for you, I can get started. As you all are aware, specialist Timur Glazkov was sent to the city to drop off some items to an assailant, but was attacked by the white mask. It has been months since any activity from them till now, there was a sighting of them heading into the metal factory in the outskirts of the city. We sent Specialist Marius Streicher over to investigate any activity since machines are his forte, he found nothing at first but soon he discovered that the white masks were inside and holding people hostage. Before we got any updates, he went radio silent. It has been almost an hour since then and we’re preparing for an emergency hostage rescue.”

“But what about Marius?” he cut in.

“Put aside your concerns, he’s an operator in Rainbow, if he’s truly his worth then he’ll be alive. He was chosen for a reason, you leave in fifthteen, get suited up.” Ash told them all, she left the room but Shuhrat was now worried. So many possibilities flowed in his head about Marius, he could be tortured, kidnapped and relocated, wounded, or worse, killed. His headache came back, he never let his emotions surface when it comes to missions but now they’re about to run rampage. Dominic gave him a light shove and smiled.

“He’s alright, I've seen him live through things that should have killed him.”

“Maybe...I’m just surprised that Ash sent me of all people to secure hostages.”

“Actually, I was the one who suggested you to her. I did some convincing and a little lie”

“W-why!?”

“Shuhrat, you see him different, don’t you?”

“...yes.”

“Then you should look for him-”

“But the mission!”

“Let us handle the mission, you’ll look around for him. Got it?” He asked, Shuhrat showed fire in his eyes and nodded.

“Got it!”

“Good, better see the both of you in each other's arms by the end of this. Come on, we need to suit up!”

“Right!” they shouted. Within fifthteen minutes they were in a chopper heading directly to the factory in the outskirts, Shuhrat looked at an empty seat next to him and thought about Marius. If he was here, he would help with their morale by giving 100 facts about silk or leaves. He turned to Grace and questioned why she was here.

“So why did you want to come?”

“I didn’t!” she said with a bitter voice, Shuhrat cleared his throat and waited until the chopper reached its destination. Within minutes, the chopper found a clearing to land as the operators jumped down and checked their equipment.

“From the blueprint we received from Ash, there's a passage around the back that leads underground. The report said that’s where Jäger went silent, but the hostages on the top floor. IQ, Blitz, Dokkaebi, stay with me. Fuze, go in the underground passage and find Jäger . GO!” he shouted, the group split off from Shuhrat as they disappeared between the tree lines. Shuhrat moved through the brush to get around the factory, he stopped when he saw a metal hatch door opened with a ladder leading down. He took a deep breath and tried to go down, but the shield he was carrying wouldn’t fit.

“(Dammit, so much for protection…)” he sighed as he hid the shield in some bushes before going down the ladder, he dropped down and landed on a puddle of water. The splash sound echoed through the dim lit passage. For once, he was afraid to go forward but he has if he wants to find Marius. He tread down the passage and avoided stepping in the puddles, the grime on the walls and rusted pipes meant the factory workers don't come this way very often. It was surprising considering it being a metal factory, but every place has its dirty side, even at Rainbow with some of the operators’ habits . His head looked above when he heard gunfire, the others must be fighting already the white mask.

“Everyone, are you alright!?” he asked but only static came out in the end.

“(Probably why no one got in contact with Marius, the signal here is very weak. Marius, please be alright...hm?)” He saw something under his foot, he picked it up and saw that it was a white mask with blood. It was already dried up, but was it from his enemy or Marius? He felt his emotions rising again but calmed down, he has no proof that he died so he shouldn’t assume the worst. Shuhrat tread deeper into the underpassage, but it felt like a maze. The walls looked the same and so did the rats running past his feet, he was getting nowhere as he continued to hear the gunfire above. He pinched his eyes and sighed, he couldn’t find any leads or any way up. His head ached but his body froze up, a looming shadow hunched over him and he felt it. He turned around to strike the unknown presence but it struck him first with a rusted pipe, it knocked the cluster charge off of him. He grabbed his pistol to only have it smacked off his hands, hand-to-hand combat wasn’t his strong suit. He wished for once he paid attention to Maxim’s instructions to CQC well training instead of sneaking off to the workshop. The pipe came flying to him again, he put up his arms to block it, it was successful but it brought more pain as he dropped his arms. The pipe came back to him and smacked him against his head and knocked his helmet clean off. A sharp ringing was in his ear as blood ran down his face, Shuhrat shook his head and drew his knife out and tackled the man. The man knocked him off due to Shuhrat’s sloppy form, he continued to assault Shuhrat until he gave another blow to the head. He fell to his knees before he was grabbed by his hair, he looked at the man in the white mask, he was larger than Shuhrat with a body that rivals Alex’s.

“Great, of course I *coughs* get the big one.”

“I would have thought an elite from Rainbow would have put up a challenge, twice now you guys failed my expectations.”

“T-TWICE!?”

“Oh...you don’t know, huh?” the man asked. He kicked something from the shadows and into the dim light, it was Marius’ helmet with a bullet hole and blood. His eyes riddled with tears, his emotions he was suppressing burst out, his body shook, his words jumbled and were unclear. His thought process disappeared as images of Marius flashed in his mind. The large man laughed as he was enjoying the overwhelming despair in Shuhrat’s eyes through his cracked goggles.

“That’s what I love the most, the fear in someone eyes as they are about to die-”

“Wow, that’s such an odd thing to say for your last words!” a cheery voice said from behind. The man turned but paused, he felt something warm run down his face for a split second before falling over. A knife was planted into his forehead and was planted deeper when the man fell over. A shadowy figure grabbed Shuhrat’s arm and placed it over their shoulder and carried him out to the forest. The figure gently laid him down as they sat in front of them.

“Thank god I made it on time, I really thought you were a goner!” the voice said with relief, the Shuhrat stared at the figure as the lingering sun in the dusk sky revealed it to be Marius with its remaining rays.

“Sorry about that, didn’t mean to lose contact with everyone.”

“...”

“Sorry, I...figured you still want space-”

“MARIUS!”

“W-woah! Is everything alright?”

“I-I thought we lost you, y-your helmet had a bullet hole with blood, you even have blood on your head!”

“Well the blood on my head was from something else, but I made the bullet hole myself and smeared my blood on it to trick them that I was dead. Wasn’t meant to be used to scare you at all.”

“O-oh, you really had me…” Shuhrat responded, but not they both were quiet. He already knows about Marius’ confession as he was trying red.

“Hey, Shuhrat...I-I’m sorry for being a screw up…”

“What?”

“You...read my message i’m assuming and I jus-”

“NO!”

“W-what!?”

“YOU’RE NOT A SCREW UP!”

“W-what’s with the shouting!? W-well I know I talk a lot-”

“AND I LOVE IT WHEN YOU TALK!” He cut in, Marius eyes widened, the lingering sunlight glosson Shuhrat’s teary eyes and saw he was serious on what he meant.

“What…?”

“I LOVE IT WHEN YOU TALK, IT’S SOMETHING I COULD NEVER STOP LOVING!”

“Y-you...are just saying that to-”

“NO, I LOVE IT WHEN YOU TALK. I LOVE HEARING YOUR VOICE, I LOVE YOUR FLUFFY HAIR, I LOVE YOUR FACE, YOUR EYES, I LOVE YOUR MILLION FACTS OF RANDOM BULLSHIT! I LOVE THE WAY YOU LAUGH, I LOVE THE LENGTH YOU GO FOR ME! I LOVE HOW EXPRESSIVE YOU ARE, I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU! It wasn’t fair for you to show interest in me from the start when I showed nothing! It wasn’t cause I wasn’t interested, I just don’t know how to express myself! But you kept trying and trying and trying, I honestly don’t deserve someone like you! When I yelled at you last night, I felt terrible! My heart felt like it was stabbed and it was painful watching you go, hearing you apologise when you tried you damndest to salvage the events that fell apart, EVERYTHING WASN’T FAIR FOR YOU ! EVERYTHING WAS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU DID NOTHING WRONG, BUT YOU STILL HAD A SMILE ON YOUR FACE. YOU CALLED YOURSELF A COWARD BUT YOU ADMIT YOUR FEELINGS, THAT’S SOMETHING I WISHED I COULD DO!” Shuhrat poured his heart out, his body couldn’t hold him back. Timur was right, he needed that push and it was Marius. The fear of losing him opened him up and let his heart speak for him instead of his mind. Tears streamed down his face as his eyes matched the blood running down his head. He coughed as he struggled for air, Marius rubbed his back to help him breathe a bit clearly. Once his breathing was back to normal, he gripped Marius’ head and took him in for a kiss. It was passionate, rich, savoring as Marius closed his eyes and took hold of Shuhrat’s body. They couldn’t stop or help themselves, the yearning for each other was too deep to stop. Shuhrat got what he wanted, running his finger through Marius’ fluffy blonde hair, feeling his stubble against his face. Marius’ got his wish too, having Shuhrat accepting his feelings and him having the same for him.

“Holy...shit...YOU DON’T KNOW HOW LONG I WANTED THIS!” Marius shouted as he pulled Shuhrat closer and unleashed a barrage of kisses on his cheeks, he chuckled as Marius stubble tickled his skin once more before Marius stopped.

“*Clears throat* you two…” Dominic interrupted, they two turned to see the others standing near them with the hostages. Monika and Elias had a smug look on their faces as Grace took a photo and sent it to Timur.

“I swear, if I get involved in one more of your unit’s bullshit!” she sent.

“Once a clown, always a clown.” he sent back, she sent a picture of her flipping him off before putting her phone away. They waited till the authorities arrived so they could cater to the hostages, Dominic and Monika stood behind as the rest boarded the chopper to return to base. As they were going home, Grace and Elias raised their brow and grew a devil-like smirk. They saw Marius holding Shuhrat’s hand as showering it with kisses. Shuhrat couldn’t help but turn red from Marius’ overwhelming affection.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Elias jabbed at them, Shuhrat’s shades of red turned crimson as Marius just laughed at the joke.

“Hopefully soon!

“MARIUS!?”

“Wow, sound the wedding bells and release the doves. Who’s setting the event?” Grace also jabbed.

“”STOP, STOP, STOP!” he demanded all of them, he crossed his arms from embarrassment and turned away. Marius pulled him over and hugged him tight and rocked back and forth. They returned from their mission and went to the ER where Gustave was tending to their wounds, he threw his chew pencil at the couple as he told them that if they didn’t skip training they wouldn’t be so beat up.

“I should take the pipe and beat it over your heads myself-”

“Oh, not so tight!”

“Shut it, Marius! I told you two that physical training is an important exercise to focus on and what did you two do!? Skipped out like some highschool goth brats avoiding P.E. and stayed inside like a thirty-year old neckbeard who lives in their mother’s basement and makes internet threads about sniffing Barbie’s feet!”

“OW! I-I know I stay inside a little-”

“A LITTLE!?”

“O-ok, maybe too much. J-just don’t tell Maxim-”

“Oh, I already know.” Maxim said over a phone, Gustave called him in advance when he read the report Dominic sent him.

“And when I get back, i’m putting both of you on a strict training regiment for the next two weeks. You two better enjoy your time before I get back cause i’m putting you through hell.” He said before hanging up, both of them turned purple from fear of what Maxim planned for them. Shuhrat has been through his strict training once and it wasn’t a pleasant experience, so going through it again for two weeks will literally be hell for him. Gustave kicked them out after patching them and slamming his door, they assumed he already had a rough day and them coming to him must have made it worse.

“Geez...guess being the only real doctor here must be a pain in his ass.”

“I’ll say, not to mention he wasn’t thrilled with happening with Timur’s problem a few months ago.”

“Ha, Grace said the same thing. She was really against helping me, I feel bad for her. Whenever relationships related things happen she’s always involved.”

“That’s her own fault for sticking her nose into something she shouldn’t have in the first place. Simply minding her business would have avoided this.” Shuhrat said.

“Ha, I guess. So…”

“Er...um, Alex just recently got deployed and i’m sure Timur is in his art station like usual. So...if you don’t mind, we can go back to my barracks and clean up a-and rest if you want? We’re similar sizes so I’m sure my clothes would fit you if that’s ok?”

“S-sure!”

“Ok, this way.” Shuhrat grabbed Marius’ hand and led him to his barracks, ran some water in the tub and started to undress themselves. Shuhrat felt a little nervous, he showered with his unit before and has seen them naked but this is different. Bathing with someone he loves was a whole different experience. He turned the water off after it reached a certain point and looked at Marius’ body. He has scars, so many scars. How has he done in his past to give him such deep scars all over his body, he has more than Alex and he was considered a war god. Shuhrat had some himself but they were small or a couple of bullet wounds. He looked down and saw one he got from the chopper crashing during the outbreak, Dominic meant it when he said that Marius’ doesn’t die easily.

“You...have so much on you. A battle hardened veteren couldn’t compare in the slightest…”

“Well, I survived quite a few crashes when I was younger. Not to mention I been cut, stabbed, etc-”

“Marius, why are you covering yourself?” he cut in, Marius turned red and not from the steam. He removed his hands and he revealed his throbbing erection, now Shuhrat was fleshed red he got one himself just from.

“SORRY! I-I wasn’t trying to erect you or anything! I...just got e-excited and-”

“No, it’s fine! I don’t mind it, but...let’s take our bath. I want to feel fresh and get rid of god knows what on my skin.”

“Yeah, me too.” Shuhrat got in first with Marius sitting in front of him right after, Marius did his usual and told facts of random things that came across his mind. Shuhrat smiled as he listened to his sweet voice going on and on, he pleases him that he’ll hear this voice for the rest of his life now. They swap spots so Marius could clean Shuhrat next before exiting out and drying themselves, Shuhrat handed him some of his clothes and as he predicted, it fit just fine for Marius. Marius then thrusted himself forward into Shuhrat and laid on top of him on Maxim’s bed.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself haha. But i’m serious, i’m...really happy that you admit you love me. I felt my heart did a do like five hundreds backflips.”

“I could say the same, my heart flattered when I read your message. But I got so scared when I was told you went silent, then when I saw your helmet...I thought I lost you. I thought I would never see you again...to never tell you how I really felt. I-I know you’re strong Marius but...promise me, promise me that you won’t die...and leave me.”

“I promise! Besides, if god hasn't killed me now then I doubt he’ll do it anytime soon.”

“I...really hope so-”

“No hope, it won’t happen, especially that I have you now!”

“Yeah…*yawn* I...have you.”

“Uh oh, someone’s tired, better get in a more comfortable position then.” Marius said, removing himself of Shuhrat and pulling the blanket over them. Marius slid his arm under Shuhrat and began spooning him. He held Shuhrat’s hand and caress his head, but all that made Shuhrat even more tired

“Better?”

“Yeah...way better.”

“Goodnight, Shuhrat.”

“Goodnight, Marius.”

-1 week later-

“I-I know you h-help us out of our s-strict training Dominic, b-but do we have to watch you p-play this game!?” Marius' shaky voice asked, holding onto Shuhrat's arm with his shades of purple returning.

“It’s not that scary, Marius. Stop being a chicken.”

“I’M NOT! I-I just think w-we shouldn’t p-play something like this w-with the lights o-off!”

“Oh Maxim-”

“WAIT! You know, m-maybe this game w-won’t be scary.”

“See, told you. Also, no million facts. I want y’all to be quiet and just watch.” Dominic told him, knowing he was going to talk over them. Before he started, the door opened up and Timur poked his head in. The men froze up when they heard Maxim’s voice in the distance.

“Timur, are they in there?”

“No, just Dominic!”

“Slippery bastards, their excuse better be good for skipping training today!” he shouted, Timur winked at them and shut the door. Ever since Maxim returned, it has been nothing but training to their limit. Their bodies will be constantly sore, always covered in sweat. Maxim changed their diets and monitored them in case they tried to avoid their lesson, so they were grateful for Dominic and Timur helping them out. Dominic started the game as Marius cling onto Shuhrat’s body with one arm and covered his eyes with the others. Well Dominic was well in the horror game, Shuhrat whispered to Marius to go away and talk, Marius smiled as he leaned closer to Shuhrat’s ear and unleashed his random facts once again. His sweet voice distracted him from the game and Dominic saw that they weren’t even paying attention, but he didn’t mind.

“(Ha, love birds.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for giving this a read, I was editing up to 3am (started in the afternoon). Time to go back to my other fics, but if you was to read another fic of this ship, check out my friends that she just recently post! Her name is Polargrizz47, check her out if you want a more serious story, bye bye!


End file.
